From Trouble to Help
by ShortB
Summary: Two teenagers with Turbo powers and ultralink partners are big troublemakers in Copper Canyon, but when Max and Steel come into their life, they start to change and want to be more help then trouble.
1. Chapter 1

As Mary and Juliana sped away from N-Tech, they both smirked and exchanged glances through their turbo-suit-helmets.

"Why did you do that?" Mary's ultralink Liz asked from inside her suit. The suit looked just like Max's, only, instead of where the blue was, there was purple in some places and yellow in others.

"Just for fun," was Mary's answer.

"We could have gone to the park," Juliana's ultralink Marcy said. Juliana's suit looked like Max's, too, but she had blue and orange.

"It was just a joke. Besides, there wasn't any real damage," Juliana rolled her eyes. There was a loud sound and an explosion. They quickly sped up.

"We need to get out of here before Max Steel gets here!" Juliana yelled to her sister. Mary nodded in response.

"Follow my lead!" she yelled back. "Go Turbo: flight!" she screamed out. Purple and yellow colors and hexagons surrounded her body. After they faded, she didn't have her speed suit anymore, but she had her flight suit on.

Juliana followed her lead, "Go Turbo: flight!" The same happened to her, but instead of purple and yellow, there was blue and orange.

Juliana burst into the air after her sister. When they reached high enough to be out of fire, they screeched to a halt and sped towards the city Copper Canyon. As they soared through the sky, they looked behind them.

_Oh, this is just great!_Mary thought sarcastically to herself. Max Steel was on their tail.

"Come on, Steel! Let's show these guys whose boss!," Max said to his partner right before speeding up.

"Sis! Stop, drop, and get ready to fight!"Juliana ordered. Marcy nodded to her younger sister. They abruptly stopped flying and dropped.

"Go Turbo: canon!" they yelled in unison. After the brief flash of lights, they were covered in a huge set of armor. They crashed into the ground and got up. Their canon mode faded away and they were covered up in their standard mode. Max Steel landed right behind them.

"All right, boys. I don't know how you guys have turbo-suit, too, but if you come along quietly, I won't hurt you," he said with a cocky tone in his voice. They turned around to face him.

"Wait, you two are girls?" he said with a shock.


	2. Chapter 2

"Yes, we are," Juliana hissed. Max was a surprised that two girls had Turbo powers and were able to sneak past the security guards at N-Tech.

Steel popped out of Max's suit.

"Hey, Steel. What are you doing?" Max mumble to his friend.

"You'll see, Max," Steel said. "All right, ultralinks, please come out of the suit." The two aliens did as he said very casually.

"M...Marcy and Liz? I thought I'd never see you guys again!" Steel exclaimed in delight.

"It's good to see you, too," Marcy said back.

"But what were you guys doing? N-Tech was pretty mad when you guys decided to trigger a grenade inside the base."

"I'm not entirely sure why we did, either. Our humans didn't say that they were going to cause any trouble," Liz replied.

Steel sighed and rolled his eye. "Sounds like my human."

"Hey, Steel! I heard that! Max yelled at him. Steel just smiled.

"Well, see ya!" Mary yelled as Liz and Marcy went back into their suits.

"Go Turbo: flight!" they quickly blast off away from Max.

"Hey, come back here!" he yelled after them as Steel went back into his suit. They sped above the city and dropped into an alley when Max wasn't looking.

"Whew, I think we lost him," Juliana wiped sweat off her forhead.

Mary panted. "Let's stay here until the coast is clear." They both changed back into their clothes and breathed a sigh of relief.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day was Monday, and the start of a new school year. Max made it into class just in time before the late-bell rang. He took his seat right next to a new girl. She had blond hair with purple streaks. Her shirt was long sleeved and was cut off right below her sholders. It was purple, and had a yellow ultralink outline on the front of the shirt. She had normal jeans and converse.

"Hi, I'm Mary," she smiled and held out her hand.

"I'm Max. Nice to meet you," he shook her hand.

"All right, class, settle down!" Max's new teacher Mrs. Smith commanded. Everyone quieted down and sat down into there seat.

After school, Max talked with Mary until her little sister Juliana caught up with her. Juliana wore a black sweatshirt with an ultralink outline on it. She had normal jeans and normal tennis shoes.

"Well, I gotta split. It was nice to meet you, Max!" Mary said with a wink. Max smiled and waved.

"Hey, Max! Do you think we could get a ride home?" Sydney asked. Kirby was standing by her side and was waving at Max.

"Sure." Max replied.

Later that afternoon after Max dropped them off, He and Steel decided to fly around and see if they could find the new two new turbo-powered-kids. All they found, though, was trouble. Out of nowhere, Mega-Elementor bashed him towards the ground. The last thing Max Steel saw before he blacked out was Mega-Elementor's laughing face.


	4. Chapter 4

"Uh...Wha, what's going on?" Max mumbled to himself. He had just woken up, but he had a terrible headache. He ignored the headache and looked around. He then remembered what had happened to him before he was knocked out.

"Steel? Steel, are you there?" Max asked in a low voice.

Max heard a low mumble, "Max? What happened?" Steel woke up.

"We went to look for those girls, but Mega-Elementor got us first."

"So, you're finally awake," Mega-Elementor walked around the huge stone Max was stuck on. Mega-Elementor had 'locked' his hands and feet with his rock-controlling abilities.

"Ya, so? What do you want this time? I've kicked your butt before, and I'll do it again!" Max said to the alien. He was starting to get cocky, but Steel didn't like it one bit. He secretly sent a signal to the two other ultralinks, Marcy and Liz, and made sure the signal couldn't be traced in any sort of way.

The combined-ultralink-alien laughed at Max's words, "And how do you plan on doing that when we've got you stuck on a boulder?"

Max decided to psych his opponent out. "You mean you haven't heard? I'm not the only person on this planet who has Turbo powers." He smirked inside his helmet when he saw his opponent start to panic.

"What?! You mean there's more than one of you?" Mega-Elementor nervously questioned.

"Yes, and if you don't let me go, they'll come in here and kick your butt for me."

All of a sudden, without warning, Marcy and Juliana and Liz and Mary shot down from the ceiling of the cave in their strength mode. As soon as they landed, they turned back into their standard mode.

_Wow, I was seriously not expecting for them to actually come, _Max thought to himself with a sigh of relief.

"Somebody call?" Mary smirked in her helmet. "You can call me Maze! Now get ready to have your butt kicked!" She pounded her fist into her hand.

"And I'm Marj! If you think you're gonna get away with this, you're sadly mistaken!" Juliana place her hands on her hips.

"Max, I sent a signal for them to help us. I have a feeling they can take down Elementor easily," Steel told Max in a low voice.

"I agree," Max said back in a whisper.

"Go Turbo: stealth!" Maze yelled.

"Go Turbo: speed!" Marj yelled right after her sister was done with her transformation. That's when things went wrong for Elementor. Marj kept him busy long enough for Maze to get to high ground, jump up, and transform into strength mode, landing on Mega-Elementor with her fist. She hit him right on the forehead which was where his weak-point was located. He rocked back and forth, then fell over.

"You're welcome!" Maze turned back to her standard mode and went to help Max break free.

"Umm... thanks, but what should I do about N-Tech? They still think you're the bad guys," Max said while he rubbed his sore wrist. They had helped him get out of his situation.

"We're not necessarily bad, but we don't like to call ourselves goody-two-shoes," Marj pretended to stroke an invisible beard.

"Well, could you guys at least tell me your names?" Max asked.

"Sure, but not here. AND... you have to tell us yours, too," Maze answered back. "But let's not do it here. He won't be up for a couple of hours, but I want to make sure no one hears or sees us.

"Deal." Max Steel followed Maze and Marj far away from Mega-Elementor.


	5. Chapter 5

Me: Heeeelllooo! I just wanted to say before you read all this that I do not own Randessa and Dark Max/Storm! They belongs to IluvWinxandRandyCunn! Now, on to the chapter…

Charpter 5

After they traveled a little while, they stopped near a huge boulder in the middle of nowhere. Maze and Marj turned around to face Max.

"Ladies first," Max said. Maze and Marj took a deep breath and slowly slipped off their helmets.

"WHAT? You're my new friend?" Max blurted out when he saw Mary's face.

"What do you mean? I don't…. wait a minute, you must be Max McGrath! I thought you sounded WAY too similar!" Mary gave him a grin. Max took off his helmet too and grinned back. They all put back on their helmets and started to discuss things.

After all three of them talked together, they decided they should go their separate ways and get back home, but before they were able to, Storm (Dark Max) came from nowhere and attacked them. They were shocked but immediately started to defend themselves against him.

"WHO ON EARTH ARE YOU, AND WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING US?!" Marj yelled out angrily as she dodged his attacks.

"You can call me Dark Max," he stopped attacking and practically boasted his name.

"Is this guy feeling ok?" Maze whispered to Max Steel.

"I've met him once, but he disappeared before we could finish our battle," Max said with a little bit of nervousness. "He's pretty strong."

"Well… I guess we'll just have to try and beat him," Maze punched her hand into the palm of her fist. She and Marj immediately charged at him. Max ran after them and joined in on the fight.

After what seemed like forever of fighting, Dark Max finally decided to leave.

"Don't worry, I'll be back!" he laughed evily and flew off in flight-mode.

"Whew, I'm pooped," Maze said as she sat down on a large rock.

"Even three against one he seems impossible," Max sighed and sat down on the ground next to her.

"You said it. OH SNAP!" Marj (she taken her helmet off) slapped herself on the forehead. "I have an algebra test tomorrow," she groaned and put back on her helmet.

"Well, we got to go. See you tomorrow, M.S.!" Maze stood up and said to him. "Go Turbo: flight!" the two sisters yelled out in unison. Max waved and watched them fly off. He felt someone tap him on the soulder.

"Huh?" he turned around to see his girlfriend, Randessa, standing behind him.

"Randessa!" Max gave her slight hug, and she hugged him back.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next day at school, a new kid showed up. Her name was Randessa Flame. Her hair was purple and was in a ponytail. Her purple eyes shone bright. She wore a red long sleeve shirt and black skinny jeans. Her red and white converse looked brand new.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Randessa Flame," Mrs. Smith introduced her. Randessa scanned the room, and she smiled when she saw Max.

"Do you know her?" Mary whispered to Max, after the new girl sat down.

"Ya, I'll introduce you two at lunch," he replied back. Mary smiled and nodded her head.

-At Lunch-

Mary sat down at her usual table with Max, Sydney, and Kirby. Max waved towards Randessa when she walked towards them. She smiled a bright, warm smile and sat down next to him.

"Guys, this is my cousin, Randessa. Randessa These are my friends: Mary, Sydney, and Kirby," he pointed at each of us as he said our names.

"Nice to meet you guys!" she beamed.

"Nice to meet you, too!" Sydney and Kirby said in unison.

"Ya! It's about time we got another girl to be a part of this group!" Mary joked. Randessa smiled at their welcomes.

"So, where did you get those converse?" Mary asked. "I've had mine for a while and I need a new pair."

"There's a store at the mall that just got TONS of different colors of converse, and I had to get a new pair," Randessa answered and took a bite of her apple.

"Could you, Sydney, and I go there this weekend?"

She the bite of apple. "Sure!"

-Later-

After school, they all went their separate ways, except for Mary and Juliana, who walked home with Max.

"Is she really your cousin? I saw her after school, and she didn't look related to you," Juliana abruptly asked, after Mary had told her about Randessa.

"Juliana!" Mary scowled at her.

Max chuckled, "Well, I guess I can let you guys in on this, just don't tell anyone. No, she isn't actually my cousin. That's just her cover. She's kinda like us."

"Hmm…interesting…" Mary mumbled.

"She has the power of the Phoenix Flame and Turbo powers," he explained.

"Awesome!" Juliana beamed.

They walked the rest of the way home talking about random things.

"So, who was that guy that we fought yesterday? Is he like an evil clone of you or something?" Mary thought out loud.

"Ya, that's a good way to put it," Max replied. Mary looked over to see a frown on his face.

"Hey, it's ok. Now that Randessa is our friend, she can help us out!" Mary tried to brighten him up.

Max shook his head. "Actually, Randessa has fought him a few times, and she doesn't like it when someone tries to interfere."

Mary stared at the ground in thought. How could she get Randessa to let them help her?

"Well, I guess we'll figure something out. See ya later, Max!" Mary called out as they departed.

"Bye!" Juliana called from their door.

Mary unlocked the door and walked in. She went straight to her room and did her homework. After a couple of hours, she went outside with her little sister. They had to keep an eye out for Dark Max and make sure no one got hurt by him or Mega-Elementor.

**SB-Hey, guys! Guess what? IT'S SUMMER BREAK FOR ME! WOO! I apologize for not updating sooner. I had exams. :p Well, I hope you guys like this chapter! Hopefully, if my parents let me, I'll be able to get a lot more chapters done! Luv u guys! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It was Saturday, and Mary got up early. Randessa, Sydney, and she had planned to go to the mall today, and they all agreed to meet at Mary's house. They would meet at her house around 11:00, and they would walk to the mall from there. Mary, being the prankster she is, was planning on doing a prank on Max and Steel before she left. That's why she was up and ready at 5:00 in the morning. She woke up Liz and transformed into her flight mode. She was glad that Max had left a window slightly open, because that just made her job so much easier. She opened it all the way and climbed in.

'_Tell me again why we're doing this,' _Liz complained inside of her head.

"Because Max nearly broke my toe when he dropped his books on my feet while Butch was making a video, and he should know better than to mess with me," Mary whispered with a smirk. She walked up to him, and giggled when she saw him and Steel unconsciously cuddling in their sleep.

"Priceless," she said in a hushed tone as she took out her phone and got a few shots of them. She carefully set her phone in a secret pocket in her suit and crept up to them with a bottle of shaving cream in hand. She placed some in Max's free hand and tickled his face. On instinct, he reached up with the same hand that had the cream on it, and ended up smearing the shaving cream all over his face. Mary couldn't take it, and she fell on the floor because of her laughter. She clutched her stomach and continued to laugh, causing Max to bolt up in bed, only to touch his face with his other hand because of the substance he felt on his face. He ran out of bed and into the bathroom to wash his face clean of the shaving cream. When he came back, he saw Mary in her suit but without her mask, and Liz laughing on the floor. Steel had woken up in time to see the whole thing, causing him to laugh as well. Max glared at Mary as she settled down and wiped her eyes from the tears that had formed from her fit of laughter. Grinning, she turned her head to see a very cranky McGrath staring down at her.

"What?!" she asked innocently, but she ended up laughing a little more. "Come on, Max, it was just a joke!~" the blonde stated while getting up.

"What was that all about?!" Max asked loudly, clearly upset that the girl in front of him woke him up and caused him to smear shaving cream all over his face.

"Max, she's clearly telling you to shave more often," Steel said in his sarcastic tone, causing Liz to laugh. Max turned his glare to his partner, but his eyes softened the slightest bit as he turned back to the female in front of him.

"Well, Max, you nearly broke my toe last week when you just so happened to drop your books on my toe while Butch was videotaping for his 'weekly videos.'" Mary sneered. Max's face changed from angry to slightly scared, remembering what had happened. Butch, Kirby, and he had set that up just to see what her reaction was. Max had 'accidentally' bumped into her while Butch had been 'innocently' videotaping. Her reaction? She grabbed the injured foot and jumped around a few moments before she punched a locker, causing a dent to form. She turned to see them holding back their laughter. When they felt her burning glare, they ran for their lives as the _very_ angry girl ran after them with inhuman speed.

"Uh…heh, well, you see…" Max was fidgeting as he tried to come up for an excuse. He looked to his metal friend for help, but to no avail as he saw his friend snickering.

"I'll let you off this time, but this is your only warning, McGrath. _Don't mess with the _queen _of pranks. It will only end up with you in a world of hurt_," she jabbed her finger into his chest as she warned him. She had a smirk on her face as she glared at him evily.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go get ready for my guests later. See ya, Max!~" Mary said as Liz linked with her. Her helmet formed back over her head, and she yelled the key words, transforming into her flight mode.

She turned to look back at him right before she jumped out the window and flew off. Max just grumbled something and went back to bed. Steel, on the other hand, stayed up and kept bugging Max about what just happened.

When Mary and Liz returned to their house, Liz returned Mary to her usual attire. Mary took out her phone and plugged it into her laptop. After she downloaded the pictures, she posted them onto the internet, making sure to also send emails with the photos attached to people she knew in the school.

'_Ah, payback,'_ she thought as she shut down her computer once again and silently walked to the kitchen with Liz trailing behind.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Mary got up from her seat on her couch, where she was watching television. She had assumed that the knock that came from the door was Sydney and Randessa, and she was right. She welcomed them with a smile, and they greeted her back. They walked in, sending Juliana a wave, for she hadn't moved from her spot on the couch. She greeted them, then immediately turned her attention back to the cartoon.

"You guys want to grab a snack before we go?" Mary asked as she opened the fridge door.

"No, thanks. I'm good," Randessa replied as she sat down.

"The same goes for me," Sydney answered as she sat down next to the purple-haired teen. Mary shrugged.

"All right. Guess we should go. Hey, Juliana, tell Mom we left, okay?" Mary asked her sister, earning a grunt in response. They headed out the door and towards the mall.

When they got there, it was a usual Saturday crowd. Not too crowded, yet there were a lot of people. The trio walked around, going into any store that had something of interest to them. Randessa opened up a little and told them a little bit about herself. Max had told Randessa about Mary, and she also knew he told Mary about her real identity. That didn't change anything, though. If anything, they got along better than before.

Mary was looking at a necklace with a purple jewel in the shape of a tear when screaming and crashing noises could be heard outside of the store. She looked up, only to see the Dark Max, causing panic and anger to bubble inside her. Mary heard an older couple nearby talk nervously:

"Isn't that Max Steel?"

"It sure looks like it, but his suit is different colors."

"Why would Max Steel attack us? Was he just acting the whole time?"

"I don't know, dear, but we have to get out of here!"

The couple ran out into the crowd of people, making their way towards the exit. Mary frowned as her mind processed what they had said. That was Dark Max's plan. To turn the city against him. Then, he wouldn't be able to show his face, causing chaos to spread. The blond turned to Randessa, who gave a nod in response.

"Sydney! We have to get out of her! Come on!" Mary exclaimed as she dragged Sydney towards the crowd.

"Don't worry! I'm right behind you!" the blond said as she let Sydney see her run with the crowd a little bit. Sydney nodded and followed the crowd, giving Mary a break. She ran back to her friend and comrade.

"All right! What's this bozo think he's doing?" Randessa said cockily. She cracked her knuckles as Mary looked around to make sure no one was watching. Randessa and she hid behind a counter as they transformed into their suits, stepping out in their armor, Mary now Marcy. She noted that Randessa's mood changed rather quickly, as if she was acting nice the whole time, when she was really more of a tomboy that she had showed.

They immediately got into fighting positions as Dark Max looked their way.

"Well, well, looks like someone decided to stay," he said, the smirk evident in his tone. It sent shivers down Marcy's spine, telling her she needed to be extra careful. She looked towards Randessa, getting a nod in response.

"Go Turbo/Phoenix: flight!" they yelled in unison. They charged towards the evil clone, watching his every move. He grabbed Marcy's leg as she kicked at him, throwing her into Randessa. They crashed through a store's window, banging their heads on a counter.

"This isn't going to work. We need to distract him," Randessa grumbled as she stood up. She helped Marcy up, who gave her a nod.

"I have an idea…" she said, before she whispered it to her partner. Just as she finished, Dark Max flew in, pinning Marcy on a wall.

"Let. Me. GO!" she yelled, squirming to get out of his grasp. The plan was definitely not going to work now.

"Tch, that ain't gonna work, sugarplum," he said in a low tone. Randessa kicked his side, causing him to fall onto the ground. She quickly pinned him to the ground, making sure he couldn't attack her.

"Leave and don't come back, otherwise you'll be in a world full of pain," she said coolly. She gave him a punch in the face before getting off of him and flew into the sky with Marcy trailing behind.

"You ok?" she asked after a little bit.

"Yeah, it was just unexpected," Marcy replied, her mind slowly drifting off.

"How are you guys going to explain to Sydney where you went?" Liz piped up.

"I have no idea," Marcy moaned, causing Randessa to laugh a little. They continued to fly into the sky, making sure Dark Max was nowhere to be seen.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Holy crap guys, I am so sorry for not updating in forever! School and Quotev have kept me busy! Hope you like this chapter! Oh, and this chapter is a _little_ dark for you younger ones, so read at your own risk.

_Darkness filled a room, encircling a blonde teen. She had rolled her knees to her chest, eyes wide and staring at the ground. Shadows reached out to her, causing her to scream and frightening the shadows along with herself. Her breaths were uneven as she attempted to think straight, but what she saw next caused her stomach to churn and her brain to stop working. Her body shook with sobs as she weakly and slowly stood up. The creature slowly lurked forward, its yellow eyes glowing in the dark. The light that seemed to encircle the girl dimmed as she ran in pure blindness, not knowing how she was going to get away from the creature that slowly advanced towards her._

"_No, please, stay away! I don't want you to hurt her!" the blonde screeched, sprinting the fastest she ever had in her life. The ultralink symbol gave a gold/yellow-like glow around her chest, showing how alive the creature linked with her was._

_A deep, murderous laughter was heard from the glowing eyes, fear racing through the body of the teen. She tripped and fell, only to roll on her back in an attempt to see who or what the creature was. Her whole body froze as she saw the all too familiar eyes staring down upon her. She crawled backwards, attempting to get away from the demon-possessed alien. Steel, silver-blue hands grabbed her ankle, pulling her into the darkness. Her screams echoed the room, only for…_

Mary woke up, tears and sweat rolling down her face. Her breaths came out ragged and uneven. Liz floated in the room, her yellow eye shimmering in the dark.

"Mary are you alright? Did you have that…?" Liz started, but stopped when she saw the distant, fearful look in her companion's eyes.

"Liz… He-he's…." Mary whispered, zoned out. Liz started to panic, for she knew exactly what she meant to say.

"B-but….wh-what will we do?!" the female ultralink cried in dismay. The blonde came out of her trance, the fear and sadness in her eyes shining in the dark. She took a shaky breath, knowing that there was still a possibility nothing would come from that dream.

"Max destroyed him, remember? There's no need for us to panic, _yet_" she said, murmuring the last word. To her dismay, Liz heard her, but she said nothing about it. The alien didn't take her friend's words as comfort, but she knew that there was nothing that could be done.

Mary lied back down, attempting to fall asleep. The ultralink linked with her once again, leaving her alone with her thoughts in the dark. The shadows almost seemed to be alive, which caused her to constantly scan her own room. Wind howled outside, and the teen looked out the window, only for her heart to stop beating. There, flying outside her window, was a shadow that looked like Max's, but with the evil duplicate running around, she feared the worst.

"Goo'night, sweetheart," it said, chuckling darkly before her vision blurred. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, praying it was only her imagination. She heard a gust of wind shake the walls slightly, and when she looked outside, it, or rather he, was gone.

_If he does come back, there'll be no stopping him. We HAVE to be ready for anything, _she thought before letting silent tears roll down her face.

Eventually, after tossing and turning for what seemed like forever, the scarred little teen fell asleep, not knowing what was going to welcome her in the morning.

While she was sleeping, the darkness reached out and enclosed her. It caused her to go into a never-ending nightmare. It didn't let go until the sun rose above the horizon, shining in her window.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Clouds covered the sky, snowflakes flowing down lightly. Children ran about, throwing snowballs at each other and tackling each other. Laughter filled the air in Copper Canyon, a joyous mood filling the atmosphere of the city. Everyone was smiling, but one lonely girl sat on the bench, her bangs covering her face. She would've seemed out of place, but no one paid attention. The blonde sniffled, looking up as a shadow loomed over her. Another blonde had approached her, a concern look on her face.

"Mary, what's wrong? You've been really quiet lately, and your happy attitude has disappeared," the girl asked Mary, sitting down next to her on the bench. Mary rubbed her right eye, yawing from the lack of sleep. "Looks like someone hasn't slept."

"I haven't, Sydney. I'm so exhausted in the day, and I can't wake up; but at night, I can't fall asleep. I'm wide awake!" Mary exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. She sighed as she slouched, burying her face in her hands. Her dear friend stared at her feet in thought, thinking of something to say to her suffering companion.

"I didn't know you had insomnia," she mumbled, turning her gaze to the down girl. Mary sat up, looking at her with tired eyes. The bags under her blue orbs were obvious, and her eyes seemed empty.

"I never have had this problem! It came on so suddenly and so hard!" she exclaimed into the wind, groaning as she slid down in her seat. She turned to Sydney with an angry sigh, pouting as she crossed her arms. Sydney rose an eyebrow, a slightly amused expression washing over her.

"Explains why you were late to school yesterday," the blonde haired teen teased, turning her gaze to a few children making snow angels. She heard her friend grumble something, and she turned to see her glaring at nothing in particular before Mary turned her gaze to her, her face faltering as she leaned her head on the back of the bench.

"You would think I would sleep all day since its Saturday! Instead, I didn't sleep at all!" she grumbled, standing up. She looked towards her partner, jerking her head in a direction. "Do you want to go find Max so we can pull a prank on him."

"Again?! I thought you called a truce yesterday," she exclaimed, standing up as you both began to walk to his apartment. Mary smirked, the life coming back into her eyes. Sydney shook her head as she rolled her eyes playfully.

"Sydney, do you HONESTLY think that I, the "Prank Queen," would give up something like that?" the teen over exaggerated, giving herself the title. She gave her a dangerous smile, showing her schoolmate that she was serious. Sydney rose her eyebrows towards her friend, shaking her head once again as they made the way down the sidewalk.

The walk was filled with a comfortable silence as the girls listened and watched the people around them, occasionally waving to a few people they knew. They made their way to the apartment building Max lived in, and they were about to walk in when a scream echoed throughout the city. The teenagers whipped around, only to see someone they didn't want to see again. Dark Max cackled evilly as he saw the horrified looks upon the girls' face. He watched in satisfaction as a few people ran, while others stood there, confused by the similarities he had with Max Steel.

"You again," Mary sneered, gritting her teeth. She quickly grabbed Sydney's arm as they made a dash into the building. She whipped around, freezing in her tracks as she looked at Sydney. "I need you to call the police while I'll go get Max and get him out of here, OK?" Her friend hesitated before nodding, watching as the girl with purple highlights dash up a flight of stairs.

The evil twin grinned like a maniac as he chucked a pebble at an innocent child, hitting the young person square on the head. The kid began to cry as he ran away, his eyes filled with terror towards the man. He rolled his eyes underneath his helmet, sighing. He looked around for the vigilantes, but they hadn't shown up yet. He shrugged as he stayed in front of the building he had spotted the two girls go into, knowing that they had to come out eventually. He leaned on a nearby car, enjoying the (now) silent area.

"Hey! You pick on kids for fun?! How heartless can you get?!" he heard a female voice screech, looking in the direction it came from before getting punched in the face. He was sent flying across the street, banging against the wall before sliding down. He looked up, hopping to his feet as he couldn't stop a grin from covering his face. Marj stood in front of him, her fists clenched as she held herself in a calm position. She took one step backwards when he took a step forward, showing she wanted to keep the distance. He chuckled, cocking his head to the side as he crossed his arms.

"Sounds like Ms. Hero is in a bad mood today," he stated, taking a few steps towards her. She stayed where she was, lowering herself into a fighting stance. The copy laughed, raising his hands to show he meant no harm, but he was not trusted by the girl as she only growled at him. "Someone is in a bad mood today."

"Maybe because some idiot decided to disturb a peaceful day," a male voice spoke up from behind him, causing him to whip around with clenched fists. Max Steel stood before him, also clenching his fists subconsciously.

"I was bored and wanted some attention. Plus, the joyous mood is sickening," he said, stating it as if it were an everyday thing. Max sneered as he got into a fighting stance, his doppelganger mirroring his acts. The evil duplicate lunged at him, tackling him to the ground. Before he was able do anything else to the hero, the female shoved him off. She pinned him down, raising a fist and bringing it down. Before it could collide with his jaw, he quickly caught it. She growled as she raised her other fist, only for that one also to be caught. The teen underneath her switched their positions, pinning her for only a mere moment before getting kicked in the stomach by Max. He slid across the ground before getting up slowly. "Why, you little…"

"I wouldn't be talking! I've almost HAD IT with you!" Marj screamed, taking all her anger out on him as she sprinted towards him. He stood in shock for a moment, snapping out of his surprise and getting into a defensive stance. He blocked and dodged her attacks, barely escaping her fist that was only an inch from his face. He growled in annoyance, grabbing the next punch that was thrown at him. He grabbed her arm with his other hand, swinging her over and smashing her into the ground. She let out a pained yelp as her body made contact with the concrete.

"Don't you dare hurt my friend!" Max yelled, punching his evil twin in the stomach. Dark Max gasped from the impact, shattering a window as he made contact with the glass. Max Steel quickly helped the girl up, supporting her as she took a deep breath. "You OK? That looked…"

"I'm fine," she cut him off, shrugging him off her shoulder as she dashed towards the broken window. She peered inside, letting out a frustrated yell. "He disappeared AGAIN!"

"Hey, at least he's gone. What concerns me is where he went," Max said, jogging over to her side. Marj let her thoughts collect before she heaved an angry sigh, slumping her shoulders.

"What does he want," she whispered to herself, leaning against the building. She felt her energy leave her body, panting heavily. "Why is he here?"


End file.
